New Delhi:
The Centre’s request for transferring petitions against the new IT Rules will be taken up on July 16, the Supreme Court said today, refusing to stop petitions from being heard in various High Courts.
In one of those cases, the Kerala High Court today sided with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and ordered the Centre not to take any coercive action, for now, against its members over non-compliance with the new IT Rules.
The NBA, which represents several news channels, had petitioned the High Court on Thursday challenging the IT Rules on grounds that they give government authorities “excessive powers” to “unreasonably and impermissibly restrict” the media’s freedom of speech and expression. Justice PB Suresh Kumar issued notice to the Centre asking for its stand on the petition.